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Futuristic
technology to be unveiled at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show
Photo
credit: www.diseno-art.com
The
2013 Jaguar F-Type is among the production models to be revealed
at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
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LOS
ANGELES -- Google has spent the last three years and $2
million in testing autonomous vehicles--automobiles that can drive
entirely on their own. In September, California Gov. Jerry Brown
signed legislation approving the use of these vehicles on roads
throughout the state. Why? Autonomous vehicles are expected to be
safer than those currently being driven by humans. Although we probably
won't see any of these type of cars at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto
Show, we are expecting to see the technology behind them on prominent
display.
"The
convergence of technology and the automobile is a huge story for
the industry," said Brendan Flynn, Communications Director
of the Los Angeles Auto Show. "L.A. being the hub of technology,
we're showing some interest in that area. For the first time, we
have a special showcase called the Advanced Technology Showcase.
It's going to be featuring some major players like Intel, Qualcomm,
Telenav, Sprint and a few other big players to talk exactly about
that, the connected car. Not full autonomous vehicles, but vehicles
communicating with each other and structures. I think the future
of the automobile and autonomous vehicles are coming much faster
than some people are anticipating."
How many
new car introductions can we look forward to seeing in L.A. this
year?
"The
auto industry seems to have come back, at least in North America,"
Flynn explained. "We're definitely noticing a difference. We're
going to have 45 to perhaps 50 debuts this year. A good 25 of those
are going to be real, world debuts. The automakers are pulling out
all of the stops and are bringing great, new product. Of course,
L.A. has always had a lot of concept cars. I think it's going to
be exciting. There's a lot of optimism and excitement about the
North American market. You're going to be able to feel that energy
at the show with the debuts and the exhibit properties and the theatrics
of the debuts on press days and the giveaways and promotions happening
on public days. It's going to be a great year for the L.A. Auto
Show and car sales."
Can
you go over some of those concept cars that will be displayed?
"We'll have some that we've seen at other places around the
world like the Acura NSX and the Lexus LFCC," he added. "Really,
we're going to see production car debuts. Acura has a new RLX, Fiat
is going to be coming out with three: the 500L, the electric 500E
and then they are coming out with the Abarth cabriolet. We always
get a lot of luxury cars in L.A. as well. Jaguar is rolling out
the F-Type, they also have another world debut they've yet to announce.
Land Rover has their next generation Range Rover. I expect to see
a lot more debuts. Bentley has a big debut. KIA has a couple of
debuts--one being the Forte sedan. Mazda is coming out with their
new Mazda6 and VW is bringing the Volkswagen Beetle convertible."
I
heard that GM is releasing 13 new or redesigned models. Have you
heard how many of those will be shown at the L.A. Auto Show?
"General
Motors will have at least two debuts that I know of now, perhaps
a third in L.A."
Do
you think there will be more alternative energy vehicles than last
year?
"Absolutely.
We're seeing at the show probably 20 vehicles that fall into the
all-electric or plug-in electric category," the communications
director said. "Really, what the big trend right now is the
advancement of your traditional four-cylinder, internal combustion
engine. I guess I really shouldn't say traditional because they're
so advanced now. They're delivering amazing performance and they're
turbocharged, but some people can't even tell they're turbocharged
because they're so smooth. We're seeing tons of vehicles that are
achieving over 40 mpg with these new, advanced four-cyclinders.
Diesel is another story that is really taking off this year. You're
going to see more and more diesel products coming out of primarily
the German manufacturers, but soon coming done the line form the
domestic and Asian manufacturers. I think 20 percent of the Porsche
Cayenne sales are diesel and a huge percentage of a lot of Volkswagen's
Sport Wagons, all of their TDI products, a big percentage of their
sales."
How
many vehicles are participating in the ride-and-drive for the media?
"In
previous years, the ride-and-drive has been focused on green vehicles,
which is always a big topic in L.A.," Flynn explained. "The
convergence of technology has become a huge story so it's now called
the Green & Advanced Technology ride-and-drive. This is a press
days only ride-and-drive. We're going to see vehicles that have
not only great fuel economy, but some near autonomous features--cars
that stop themselves if you don't apply the brakes before an obstacle
comes in your way or cars that will nudge you back into your lane.
We're probably going to have a dozen vehicles that fall into the
electric, plug-in, hybrid and diesel category. Volkswagen is going
to be demonstrating some of it's bi-diesel research and testing
that they've been doing."
What
about the ride-and-drive for the public show days?
"Our
consumer ride-and-drive is totally separate. I think this is going
to be our biggest year for consumer ride-and-drive. We're probably
going to have 14 or 15 brands participating maybe 50 different cars
for the public to come out and drive."
What
is planned for Designer's Night activities?
"Design
is always a big theme at the L.A. Auto Show," the communications
director said. "There are 16 advanced design studios here in
the southern California region. It's really the biggest gathering
of design industry professionals. We have 1,200 to 1,500 design
professionals on press days. Every year, the top design studios
go head-to-head to see who can come up with the best design based
on that particular year's theme. This year's is designing the highway
patrol car of the future for 2025. We have seven studios going head-to-head.
They are going to be presenting their designs live at the show during
a presentation. They get up there and they compete to see who is
the best. We have a panel of judges. The winners will be announced
at the famous Conga Room at L.A. Live. We get about 500 to 600 designers
to come to that every year."
Can
you go down the list of awards that will be presented at the L.A.
Auto Show?
"Nielsen
Automotive does their Green Marketer of the Year award," he
added. "Ron Cogan and the Green Car Journal will present
their Green Car of the Year award. Those are probably a couple of
the biggest. Automobile has an award--they present their
All Star award. The Motor Press Guild is going to be doing their
Vehicle of the Year award again. The list goes on."
For
those attending the public days for the first time, what should
they know?
"They
should really start with our website, that's a great first place
to start," Flynn explained. "We've designed a whole new
website this year that has a better events page. They can go check
out what's happening that day. Everything from musical performances
to celebrity appearances to autograph signings. They can check out
what's happening the day they can go. We also have discounts and
coupons for various days online. There's so much to see. You have
to plan for at least two hours at a minimum to see the show. That's
if you're moving at quite a clip. It's good to pick out what you
want to see and kind of have a game plan going. There's lots of
videos on our site that give you a flavor of what to expect whether
it's ride-and-drives or going down into the aftermarket hall, which
is tons of fun. The Kid's Fun Zone is free for all kids coming to
the show."
What
can folks expect to see in the aftermarket section of the auto show?
"It's
an amazing section of the show to visit," the communications
director said. "You never know what to expect down there. Of
course, we always have great displays from Galpin Auto Sports and
they are the largest Ford dealership in the world. But they also
have their Galpin Auto Sports, which is their aftermarket area.
They always come out with some wild concepts. We also have some
of the top tuners in the luxury and exotic category. Platinum always
has some super, high-dollar vehicles down there that they've tuned.
DUB is always down their with their custom cars. It's always a learning
experience for me every time I go down there."
The
city of Los Angeles has given the green light for the new Farmer's
Field. How is that going to affect the auto show?
"We
don't really know. According to the plan, it should all be positive,"
he said. "If in fact it goes through and there's a team that
goes to L.A., they would significantly upgrade the convention center.
They would do it in a way that would first add on to the South Hall
and open that up before they demolish the West Hall. It shouldn't
impact the exhibit area--it should only improve it. There might
be some difficulties for the guys that have to move the stuff in
and drive the big trucks on the loading dock. For the exhibitors
and the manufacturers and the consumers, they shouldn't really notice
anything other than a really cool, new facility being built."
Is
that something that could happen next year or is it more than a
few years off before that happens?
"I
don't think so. I think it's probably a few years away. It has been
approved by the city, but AEG is selling the entire company so they
have to find a new buyer. Then, they still need to lock in a new
team."
For
more information or to purchase tickets to the Los Angeles Auto
Show, visit www.laautoshow.com.
Photo
credit: www.imotortimes.com
The
2014 Land Rover Range Rover will be introduced at the L.A. Auto
Show.
Photo
credit: www.neocarmodels.com
The
2013 Volkswagen E-Bugster convertible will make its debut in Los
Angeles.
Photo
credit: www.efficientautomobile.com
The
2014 Mazda6 will debut at the L.A. Auto Show next month.
Photo
credit: www.thetorquereport.com
The
2014 KIA Forte will be revealed in Los Angeles.
Photo
credit: www.thetorqereport.com
The
Acura NSX concept will also be displayed at the L.A. Auto
Show.
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